Revelation 15 - Verse by Verse Bible Study

By Pastor Steven L Anderson

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January, 2013

Now in Revelation chapter 15 verse 1, the Bible reads "And I saw another sign in heaven,

great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled

up the wrath of God." So according to Revelation chapter , verse , God's wrath is encompassed

in these seven plagues. Now, we know that the Bible says that God hath appointed us

to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. And so, what we believe is that

according to the Bible, the rapture or Christ's coming in the clouds to gather up the saints,

gather the elect- happens after the tribulation, according to Matthew , but BEFORE God's

wrath is poured out. And when we look at the book of Revelation, it always plays out in

that order. For example, when we're reading the first half of the book of Revelation,

chapters through , we see the events of the tribulation clearly described in Revelation

. And those events of the tribulation described in Revelation match up perfectly with Jesus'

description in Matthew , Mark , and Luke . THEN, when we get into chapter , we see

a great multitude appear in heaven of all nations and kindreds and tongues, and peoples.

And of course we saw the sun and moon darkened at the end of chapter . So, we see tribulation,

sun and moon darkened, great multitude appears in heaven, and THEN God pours out His wrath,

which is described as "seven trumpets" in chapters , , and . Remember when the

sun and moon are darkened, the people say "the great day of His wrath IS COME". That's

AFTER the tribulation that the sun and moon are darkened, according to Jesus in the Olivet

discourse. So, it goes tribulation, sun and moon darkened, rapture, where a great multitude

appears in heaven out of nowhere, and then the wrath is poured out with the seven trumpets.

That's Revelation through . Then when we get to chapter , all of a sudden we are

back at the birth of Christ. We see the events of the tribulation described in chapters

and . Then in chapter , we see again, the rapture. Jesus Christ coming in the clouds.

Let's look at the end of chapter as a quick review, as we get into chapter about the

wrath of God. It says in chapter , verse ... "And I looked, and behold a white cloud,

and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man", "Son of man" is what Jesus was called

when he was on this earth, "having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp

sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that

sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap;

for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle

on the earth and the earth was reaped." So what we see in Revelation verses through

, is Jesus Christ coming in the clouds to reap the earth. Of course, this ties in with

Matthew chapter , which teaches that the harvest is the end of the world, and that

teaches that the "good seed", or the "wheat" that grows, represents the children of God,

the saved Christians. The tares are the children of the wicked one. And so here we see Jesus

Christ coming in the clouds to gather the wheat into his barn, or to reap the harvest

of the earth, bring those that are saved into the Father's house, where there are many mansions.

Christ in the clouds, it's very clear. We have the voice of the archangel, etc, etc.

So after the rapture takes place, God begins to pour out his wrath the same day, according

to Luke . Well, let's see how this plays out in Revelation , after the rapture is

described it says in verse , "And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven,

he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power

over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust

in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are

fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the

earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was

trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles,

by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs." So here, at the end of chapter

, God uses very symbolic language about gathering the clusters of the vine of the

earth, and gathering them and casting them into the great winepress of the wrath of God,

and then the winepress is trodden, blood comes out up to the horse bridles. So here He is

using a picture, or a symbol of His wrath as being a great winepress of the wrath of

God. And basically, after the rapture in verses through where the sun of man reaps the

earth of the good wheat, or the good harvest, now it's only the unbelievers that are left

behind on the earth. And so God's going to pour out his wrath upon the unbelievers that

are left behind on the earth, and he uses a symbolism there of basically casting them

into the great winepress of the wrath of God. So with that in mind, coming off of those

verses at the end of chapter , then we get into chapter , it says in verse "And I

saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven plagues; for in them is filled up the

wrath of God." So that great winepress of the wrath of God at the end of chapter

is referring to the seven vials of God's wrath. The seven plagues of God's wrath. Because

in them is filled up the wrath of God. Basically God's wrath is contained in these seven vials.

So, God's wrath in the book of Revelation is referring to the seven trumpets and the

seven vials, those seven last plagues that overlap with each other. Now I'm not going

to spend time on it tonight, but in my sermon on Revelation , I'm going to prober to you

beyond a shadow of a doubt that the trumpets and the vials happen at the same time, they're

happening concurrently one with another. First trumpet, first vial, second trumpet, second

vial and so forth, in that order. But what I want you to see so far, is that when the

sun and moon are darkened at the opening of the sixth seal, the people say "the great

day of his wrath IS COME", meaning it is just now come. And then what happens? We go into

the seven trumpets in chapter . Well here, we're going into the wrath of God, as "seven

vials". Now, what I want you to see about both of these, is that NEVER is the tribulation

referred to as "God's wrath". The six seals of the tribulation are never referred to as

"God's wrath". But the seven trumpets, and the seven vials ARE referred to as God's wrath.

So, saying "well, there has to be pre-tribulation rapture because God's not going to pour out

his wrath on his own people..." That doesn't hold up, because the tribulation and God's

wrath are two different things. So that concept could teach a pre-wrath rapture, but not a

pre-tribulation rapture. And again, if you've listened to the series up to this point, you

know that the tribulation comes before the sun and moon are darkened. The wrath comes

after. So here we are, with the seven vials, the seven last plagues, "in them is filled

up the wrath of God". These seven vials of God's wrath are going to be poured out in

chapter . Chapter is an introductory chapter that just introduces the concept of

God pouring out the vials, or having his angels rather, pour out the vials. And so chapter

is just a build up chapter to chapter which goes through each of the seven vials

in detail. Let's keep going in chapter here. It says in verse , "And I saw as it

were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the

beast, and over his image and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on

the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant

of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God

Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." And we're going to get into

their singing in just a moment, but it's interesting that we see the rapture take place in Revelation

verses through , so doesn't it make perfect sense that this multitude would be

in heaven in the next chapter, of people who've gotten the victory over the beast? These are

people who made it through, they've just been raptured, and this multitude appear in heaven,

singing and praising God. Matches perfectly with what we saw in Revelation . Right after

the tribulation, then comes the rapture, before the wrath of God. So the multitude appears

in heaven in chapter , before the wrath is poured out in chapter , and here in the second

half of the book of Revelation, we see the same thing. Right BEFORE the wrath is poured

out with the seven vials, we see this multitude IN HEAVEN, on the sea of glass, singing and

praising God with harps in their hands. Now, what are they singing? Well, the Bible says

they "sing the song of Moses the servant of God, AND the song of the Lamb, saying, Great

and marvellous Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who

shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? For thou only art holy: for all nations

shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgements are made manifest." So this text

that's given here in verses and , is giving us the song of the Lamb, because it says they

are singing the "song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the LAMB, saying"-

and then he gives us the words to the song of the Lamb. You say, "okay, what are the

words to the song of Moses? That is found in Deuteronomy chapter . Because according

to the Bible, right before the vials of God's wrath are poured out, the saints that are

up in heaven, they've been raptured, this is AFTER the tribulation so they've already

gotten the victory over the beast and his image, they've gone through all that trying

period... And the Bible says they are singing the song of Moses. What is that song of Moses?

And why would they sing it at that time? Well, if we go back to Deuteronomy chapter , we

will find the text of the song of Moses, and I think it will become very obvious why they

are singing this particular song at this time. Now, for sake of time, I'll just paraphrase

what Deuteronomy teaches. But in Deuteronomy , Moses is basically explaining to the people

that he knows that after he's dead and gone, the children of Israel will rebel against

the LORD. Now, while Moses is alive, and while Moses is leading them, they're on the right

path. While Joshua, his successor leads the children of Israel, they stay on the right

path. But if you remember, after Joshua dies, there arises up a new generation that does

not know the LORD, and they rebel against God. And throughout their history, at various

times, great leaders like Othniel and Ehud, and Barack, and Gideon, rise up and bring

them back to God. But then they keep going away and forsaking other Gods. So, Moses in

Deuteronomy says "I know you are going to forsake God, I know you are going to forget

the works of the Lord, I know you are going to forget God's word." And he says "therefore

I am going to teach you a song that I want you to learn. I want you to learn this song,

and to teach it to your children so that after I'm gone, and after you've forgotten about

the word of the Lord, this song will stay with you." Now that shows us how music has

the power to stay with us, even when we forget other things. We might forget sermons that

we've heard preached. We might forget the words of a wise man like Moses who has spoken

unto us the word of God, but one thing we don't forget is songs. We can remember songs

from when we were little kids. We remember songs that we have heard on the radio. We

remember songs that we have heard in church. Music has a way of EMBEDDING itself into your

mind, and into your memory in such a way that you will not forget it. And he says "even

after you've forgotten the word of the Lord, and even when you don't teach your children

the word of God, they'll learn this song. This song is going to be sung for generations

and generations. They will know the music, know the words, and it will stay with you,

and it will testify against you." He says "when you reject God and forsake God, this

song that I'm going to teach you is going to remind you of the judgement of God that

comes upon sin and upon wickedness." That's what the song is about. It's about judgement.

It's about the judgement upon sin and wickedness. And it's about God taking vengeance against

sinful and wicked people. Now, isn't that an appropriate song to be sung in Revelation

, when God is about to take vengeance on the earth? God is about to pour out his wrath.

Let's look at the song shall we? Deuteronomy : says "And Moses spake in the ears of

all the congregation of Israel the words of this song, until they were ended." And in

chapter , we get into the song itself. Look at verse number one. "Give ear o ye heavens,

O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear. O earth, the words of my mouth. My doctrine

shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender

herb, and as the showers upon the grass". So right there, we see that this is a song

filled with doctrine. And we ought to sing songs that are filled with doctrine, that

our children might remember, and learn the doctrines of the Bible. Instead of singing

shallow music and these chanting praise and worship choruses that you often hear, we should

sing songs that are packed with doctrine. And that's what I love about the book of Psalms.

Psalms is a song book for the children of Israel, and also for God's people in the New

Testament, according to Ephesians , we should be singing the Psalms. Those songs are FILLED

with doctrine. FILLED with great teaching of God's word. The hymns of the faith that

we sing at our church, many of them are packed with great doctrine, and that's what I like

about those songs. But it says in verse , "Because I will publish the name of the Lord;

ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways

are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he." So in the first four

verses there, we see a praising of God and just lifting up and exalting God. But in verse

, it says this. "They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children:

they are a perverse and crooked generation." So we see that the song, after praising and

exalting God, begins to go into the fact that the people have corrupted themselves and become

perverse and become wicked. Remember, this is a song about the judgment and wrath of

God. It's a song that's going to be sung by God's people, right before he pours out the

seven vials of his wrath. He says in verse , "Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish

people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? Hath he not made thee, and

established thee?", speaking to the children of Israel. "Remember the days of old, consider

the years o many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they

will tell thee. When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he

separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the

children of Israel. For the LORD's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance."

So in these scriptures, God is just talking about the fact that he has BLESSED Israel,

he said "Israel is my firstborn, and out of Egypt have I called my son." He is saying

that God has blessed Jacob, he gave them the choicest of the land. He blessed Israel, but

they've turned against him. And he is warning that this is what's going to happen in the

future. He says in verse , "He found him in a desert land", found Jacob he is saying,

"and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him

as the apple of his eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth

abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: So the LORD alone did lead him,

and there was no strange god with him. He made him ride on the high places of the earth,

that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock,

and oil out of the flinty rock; Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs,

and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou

didst drink the pure blood of the grape." He is just going on and on, how Israel has

been blessed. Because remember, this was a song for the children of Israel to remember

when they started to turn against God, all the great things he has done for them, and

how wicked they have been. So they have been blessed in so many ways. Look at verse .

"But Jeshurun waxed fat", "Jesuhurun" is another name for Israel. "But Jeshurun waxed fat and

kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then

he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. They provoked

him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed

unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up,

whom your fathers knew not. Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten

God that formed thee. And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking

of his sons, and of his daughters. And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will

see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom

is no faith. They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; with their vanities:

and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them

to anger with a foolish nation." So in verse , he's referring to the fact that the children

of Israel, although they'd been blessed and given so many good things, they rebelled against

God, they turned to other gods. They became wicked to the point that God abhorred the

children of Israel, he hated them. That's what "abhor" means, "to hate". Now, it's interesting

what he says there in verse about them moving him to jealousy, by worshiping other

gods, so he is going to provoke them to jealousy by them that are no people. Go to Romans :.

Keep your finger in Deuteronomy . This portion of Deuteronomy is quoted in Romans chapter

number . It says "But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all

the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. But I say, Did not Israel know?

First Moses saith, I will preovoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by

a foolish nation I will anger you. But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them

that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them thatasked not after me. But to Israel

he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying

people. I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite,

of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he

foreknew." And on and on. But he says "Even so", verse , "then at this present time also,

there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then is it no more

of works", and on and on. I'm not going to go through the whole chapter of Romans ,

it's very interesting. But what is the crux of what he is saying in Romans there, when

he quotes this? He is talking about the fact that the children of Israel who did not believe

on Jesus Christ were rejected from being his people. And that only the believing remnant

is still his people. Because the question is, "well did God cast away his people?" No.

Because, just as there was seven thousand that did not bow the knee to Baal, even at

this present time also that the book of Romans is being written, he says there is a remnant

according to the election of grace. Paul is saying "I'm saved, and I'm an Israelite! I'm

part of the remnant." So what we learn from Romans , and , is that God has yes indeed,

REJECTED unbelieving Israel from being his people. BUT, he has not broken his promise,

because he has not cast away all the children of Israel, he is still the God of those who

believe in Christ, like Paul, like the apostles, and like many children of Israel today who

believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Only those children who will believe on Christ are saved.

The children of Israel who did not believe on Christ, are NOT saved. The children of

Israel who will believe on Christ are God's people. The children of Israel who do not

believe on Christ, are not God's people. And keep in mind, that's per cent of the people

over in that country Israel, do not believe on Jesus Christ. They are not God's people.

Why is that significant? Why does that tie in with Deuteronomy ? Because Deuteronomy

is talking about judgment upon UNBELIEVING ISRAEL, do you see that? Because in Romans

, and , God differentiates between BELIEVING ISRAEL, the saved remnant, and UNBELIEVING

ISRAEL that is under his wrath, not his blessing. And he says "you are not my people, and I

will not be your God" in Hosea chapter . So if we tie that in back with Deuteronomy

, we see that Deuteronomy is teaching wrath and judgment upon unbelieving Israel,

which fits in perfectly with Revelation , where they're singing this song of Moses,

because it's about God pouring out his wrath on an UNBELIEVING world, including unbelieving

Israel. But also just ALL unbelievers in general are going to be under the intense wrath of

God with the seven vials. That's why this song is being sung. But let's go further in

Deuteronomy . Look at verse . "For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto

the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations

of the mountains." So isn't that exactly what God's going to start out by doing, when he

pours out his wrath? He is going to pour out fire and brimstone from heaven. The fire of

hell. The fire that is kindled in his anger will be poured out on an unbelieving world.

Also interesting to note, that this is the first time in the Bible that the word "hell"

is used, Deuteronomy :. Look at verse . "I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will

spend mine arrows upon them. They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning

heat, and with bitter destruction". Now look, aren't those things that are going to happen

in the course of God pouring out the vials of his wrath? Yep. Remember how he says that

when the fourth vial is poured out, that men are scorched with great heat, and blashpeme

the name of God? Well the Bible says right here, that he WILL burn them with great heat.

He WILL also send, he says in verse there, "the teeth of beasts upon them". Do you remember

with the fifth trumpet, and the sixth trumpet of God's wrath, do you remember the teeth

of the locusts were like lions? Do you remember the beasts from hell? The locusts from hell

that he sent to torment the people of the earth while he is pouring out his wrath? So

he says "devoured with burning heat, with bitter destruction", verse , "I will also

send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust." And remember,

in the sixth trumpet judgment, the tails like serpents that have heads? It says in verse

, "The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin,

the suckling also with the man of gray hairs. I said, I would scatter them into corners,

I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men: Were it not that I feared

the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest

they should say, Our hand is high, and the LORD hath not done all this. For they are

a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in thm. O that they were

wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!" And remember

as I read to you the words of the song of Moses from Deuteronomy , be thinking about

endtimes prophecy. Be thinking about the context of Revelation , where this exact song is

going to be sung before the vials of God's wrath are poured out. This is sung in heaven,

preparatory to the seven vials of God's wrath, the seven trumpets of God's wrath. Which both

happen at the same time, I will prove in the next sermon. He says, in verse , "How should

one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them,

and the LORD had shut them up? For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves

being judges. For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: thier

grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter: Their wine is the poison of dragons,

and the cruel venom of asps. Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my

treasures?" WATCH THIS. "TO ME BELONGETH VENGEANCE AND RECOMPENSE". That is what the seven vials

of God's wrath are about. God taking vengeance upon this wicked world. God recompensing,

or repaying this world according to their works. According to their sins, according

to their iniquities. The trumpets of God's wrath and the vials of God's wrath, are God's

judgment being poured out on a wicked world. He says he will recompense them. He says their

foot shall slide in due time, for the day of their calamity is at hand. And the things

that shall come upon them make haste. Verse . "For the LORD shall judge his people,

and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there

is none shut up or left. And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they

trusted, Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings?

Let them rise up and help you, and be your protection. See now that I, even I, am he,

and there is no god with me: I KILL, and I MAKE ALIVE; I wound, and I heal: neither is

there any that can deliver out of my hand. For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say,

I live for ever." God speaking there. And it says "If I whet my glittering sword, and

mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render VENGEANCE to mine enemies, and will reward

them that hate me." THAT IS WHAT THE SEVEN VIALS ARE. It is God rendering vengeance and

judgment upon those that hate him, and despise him. This world is filled with people who

hate God. There are people who blaspheme God, they mock God, they hate God. I mean, you

can just see them, some of these atheistic type people, you start bringing up God, you

start bringing up the Bible and Jesus, they just get so mad they are almost shaking, and

you can see the DISGUST and HATRED that they have for God in their eyes. And God says "you

know what? I WILL JUDGE this world. I will punish those that hate me. I will pour out

my WRATH upon those who REFUSE to hear the voice of the LORD." He says "I will reward

them that hate me." "I will make mine arrows drunk with blood." Verse , "and my sword

shall devour flesh; and that with the blodd of the slain and of the captives, from the

beginning of revenges upon the enemy. REJOICE, O ye nations, with his people: for he will

avenge the blood of his servants, and will render bengeance to his adversaries, and will

be MERCIFUL unto his land, and to his people." Now that's the end of the song right there.

The rest of this chapter is just talking about the song and other things. But let's look

very carefully at the last words of this song of Moses in verse . "Rejoice". "Rejoice,

O ye nations, with his people". So should we be upset about God pouring out his wrath

in the seven vials and the seven trumpets? Is that something that we should be upset

about? Should we say, "man, this is so terrible that God's going to do that, it's just not

right. Why would God do that?" No, God says "rejoice about it". God is RIGHT to judge

the earth. God is right to pour out his wrath. God is right to bring judgment and justice

upon wicked people. He says "REJOICE, O ye nations with his people: for he will avenge

the blood of his servants". Now look, this goes back to the part in chapter of Revelation,

where when the fifth seal is opened, the Bible says "I saw the souls of them that were beheaded

for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God", and remember, it talks about the

fact that he says "those that were slain for the witness of Jesus and the word of God are

crying to the Lord saying "how long O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge

our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" Keep your finger there in Deuteronomy ,

go to Revelation , the chapter that we're dealing with tonight. And remember, when the

fifth seal is opened, this is BEFORE the sun and moon are darkened, BEFORE God has begun

to pour out his wrath, that martyrs are crying out, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost

thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" And remember it

says that they give unto them white robes, and it says unto them that they should rest

yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren which should

be killed as they were should be fulfilled. Right after that sun and moon are darkened,

time to pour out the wrath. So, God's people who've been slain for the word of God, the

martyrs at the fifth seal... They're begging God to pour out his wrath, right? So doesn't

it make sense that according to Deuteronomy :, when he pours it out, they'll be rejoicing?

I mean, if they're begging that God would pour out his wrath with the opening of the

fifth seal, it makes perfect sense that in Deuteronomy :, he is saying "REJOICE O

ye nations with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants". That vengeance

is here. "And he will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto

his land, and to his people." Here is another verse that ties in with that. Go to Psalm

. Psalm . And let's read the last two verses of Psalm . The Bible reads, "The

righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance", isn't that exactly what we saw

in Deuteronomy ? "The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash

his feet in the blood of the wicked. So that a man shall say, VERILY there is a reward

for the righteous: VERILY he is a God that judgeth the earth." So God's justice and judgment,

and God's wrath being poured out upon the wicked, and God's vengeance and recompense

upon the unsaved is not something that we should get upset about. You know what? We

should be rejoicing about it. Now, obviously, it's hard for us to fully understand sometimes

why God goes to the lengths that he does. But then again, we don't really understand

the depths of the wickedness of man like God does. Sometimes, we sympathise with wickedness,

because we're sinful flesh. But you know, the more righteous you are, the less sympathy

you have for sin and the less understanding you have of wickedness. And you can see why

God's so mad. And you can see why God is pouring out his wrath in such a horrific way with

the seven vials. And when we get into the seven vials in the next sermon, you'll see

how bad they are. We already saw how bad they were with the trumpet judgments. It's horrific.

But God is showing here that the people in heaven who have their minds right, they're

actually rejoicing and looking forward to God pouring out his wrath. We on this earth

now, we may or may not struggle with that, as human beings. But, when we're up in heaven

and our mind has been completely renewed, and we've cast off the sinful flesh, and we

are conformed to the image of Jesus Christ in body, soul and spirit like those in chapter

are on that sea of Glass- which of course, we will be there... We will be in that group.

They're rejoicing. So look down at Revelation now. Now that we've gone through all those

forty three verses of the song of Moses. So we read all verses of Deuteronomy , the

song of Moses, now we know what they were singing. It says in verse , they sing the

song of Moses, we saw that, the servant of God. And the song of the Lamb, and he gives

us the words of the song of the Lamb. "Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty;

just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. WHO shall not FEAR the, O Lord, and glorify

thy name? For thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee;

for thy judgements are made manifest" So what they're saying here is that it's necessary

for God's judgement to be there, and for God to pour out his wrath, so that basically all

the nations will fear his name, and glorify his name, and that they will come and worship

before him. And so, God's people that are singing these songs in chapter , understand

that first of all, the wrath that's about to be poured out is what the people of this

earth deserve. They have merited it. Later on, when he goes into the specifics of the

wrath in chapter , he talks about turning the water into blood. And it says- jump forward

if you would to chapter , in verse , it says "I heard the angel of the waters say,

Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged

us. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blodd

to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord

God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments." So here the Bible is teaching us that God

is perfectly justified in giving people blood to drink instead of water, and making them

suffer in that way with the pouring out of the third vial, because of what they have

done. They have killed the prophets. THEY KILLED the saints, they KILLED innocent people.

They have shed innocent blood. And so God is perfectly justified in giving them blood

to drink. And God is justified in all seven of the plagues that he brings out. And that's

what chapter is teaching us, with the song of Moses, and the song of the Lamb. First

of all, number one, that the people of the earth DESERVE the punishment that's poured

out. Number one. Make no mistake about it. Look, the people that are in hell right now,

deserve to be there. That's what the Bible teaches. Now, that may be hard for sinful

people like you and I to wrap our minds around, but the Bible teaches that the people in hell

right now DESERVE to be there, because GOD is JUST. God is RIGHTEOUS. And if they're

there, God was right to send them there. God is just. And you know when God pours out his

wrath? He is justified in doing so. That's the first thing. But secondly, not only do

we see that the people of the earth DESERVE the punishments that they're going to receive

with the outpouring of his wrath, but also the people that are upon the earth, being

judged and being punished brings glory to God and shows his awesome power to those who

look on. To those who see these judgments poured out. And so we see that number one,

they deserve it, and number , we see that God's awesome power and glory is manifested

through his judgment. It makes people fear before him. It makes people realise "hey,

this isn't someone to play around with." This is God Almighty. This is the God of the universe.

And his judgments demonstrate that. So lets look at verse . Let's keep going. We've dealt

with verses through of chapter , let's look at verse . "And after that, I looked

and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened". Now,

it's interesting that he talks about "the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony

in heaven was opened". What is that referring to? Well if you remember, in the book of Exodus

when Moses built the tabernacle, God gave Moses very specific instructions of how to

build the tabernacle. And he told Moses "see that thou make all things according to the

PATTERN which was shewed thee in the mount". Well, in the book of Hebrews, when the Bible

goes into great detail about the architecture and the furniture of the tabernacle, he said

that "these things were a PATTERN of the things in the heavens". Basically, when he talked

about the tabernacle, and the holy place, and the Most Holy place, he said that they

were the FIGURES of the true. He said that they were just FIGURES of the real thing in

heaven. That everything that was made on the earth was just made after the PATTERN of the

things that were in heaven. Because the Bible says that when Jesus Christ shed his blood

for our sins and was buried and rose again, it says "Christ has not entered into the holy

places made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into HEAVEN ITSELF, now to

appear in the presence of God for us" So when Jesus Christ died on the cross, shed his blood,

was buried and three days later rose again, he took the blood that he had shed, and sprinkled

it seven times on the mercy seat, the Bible teaches. But listen, he did not take his blood,

and enter into the temple at Jerusalem and sprinkle the blood there. No, he entered into

the tabernacle in heaven. And so, the Bible is clear in Hebrews that there is a tabernacle

in heaven, and that the tabernacle that was built in the book of Exodus is just a figure,

or just a remake of something that already existed in heaven. And that the blood of the

animals that was brought into the physical tabernacle that was built in the book of Exodus

is a picture of the blood of Christ which was brought in ONE TIME into the holy place

in heaven, and sprinkled upon the mercy seat in heaven. So that's what the Bible is referring

to when it says in verse , "And after that I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle

of the testimony in heaven was opened". That heavenly tabernacle, that heavenly place.

He says in verse , "And the seven angels came out of the temple", referring to the

heavenly temple, and it says "the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues"-

remember the seven vials of the wrath of God. It says "clothed in pure and white linen,

and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts", remember

the four beasts from chapters , and ? It says "gave unto the seven angels seven

golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. And the temple was

filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter

into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled." So again,

verse number is really driving in the point that God is glorified through pouring out

his judgement and pouring out his wrath. You say, "why would that bring God glory?" The

glory of the Lord is often referred to as "a cloud" or "smoke", because remember in

the Old Testament, they dedicated the temple, it filled with the cloud of the glory of God,

it filled with the smoke of the glory of the Lord? That's here. But you say "wait a minute.

Why would God be glorified by the seven plagues? Why would these seven plagues of God's wrath

cause the temple to be filled with smoke from the glory of God, and that no man was able

to enter into the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled? Why would

that glorify God?" Well, let me explain it to you this way. What if I were a leader in

some capacity, and I made all kinds of rules, and everybody broke my rules and I just did

nothing about it? I mean, would that glorify me as a leader in people's eyes? Or would

people think that my leadership is a joke? And that my rules are a joke? Let me ask you

something. Is God a joke? Are his rules a joke? Are his commandments a joke? So what

if in my house, I have a rule that says "thus saith dad. I'm not saying this is optional,

this is my commandment that bedtime is pm for my small children in my house. They must

be in bed for pm." And what if you came over my house, and the kids are just up at .

at night, and they're just playing and they're eating ice-cream, and they're running around.

And you asked "hey, I thought you said bed time was at pm?" And I said, "yep, bed time

is at pm." And you said "well, are you going to punish these children?" What do I do? You

would say, "you know what? You're a joke of a parent. Your rules mean nothing." And let's

say that I had a rule that says "you can't have any dessert until you've eaten a proper

meal. You can't have any dessert until after dinner, you're not going to have dessert for

breakfast." And then my kids are getting up in the morning and eating a bowl of ice-cream

for breakfast. That just shows my rules mean nothing. Okay, well that's home life right?

Let's say I go to my job and at my job I am a supervisor. And I have a rule that says

"shirts need to be tucked in." Nobody's shirt is tucked in. I have rules that say "you must

be on time, you must clock in at am." And people are just kind of straggling in after

that, and there are no consequences. You would say "you have FAILED as a manager. You have

FAILED as a supervisor." And the owner would fire me. If the owner saw me making all these

rules about people being on time, people dressing right, people getting to the job site, people

performing the work in a workmanlike manner... And NONE of it's happening, and nobody is

facing any consequences, people would say you are a JOKE of a leader, you have FAILED

to supervise. You have FAILED. Because anybody who has rules and doesn't enforce them is

not a real leader. And they're failing to lead. Look, God has alot of rules, they're

not being followed. In order for God to basically retain his honour and retiain his glory, and

retain his integrity as a leader, he must punish those who've broken his commandments.

Otherwise he is looked at as a joke. He is a laughing stock of the world. Because let's

face it, do most people obey God today? The vast majority of people don't obey God. And

so therefore, unless there is a day of reckoning for those people, then God becomes a joke,

and God's rules are a joke, and God's commandments would be meaningless. If there is no teeth

behind that authority, that authority is meaningless. Whether it be ANY sphere of authority, whether

it be the governments authority, whether it be authority in the home, whether it be authority

in a business. It's got to have some teeth behind it, or else it's meaningless. The authority

of the church. And obviously the church doesn't exercise a bunch of authority over the members,

as far as in their offtime, or what they do. But there are some areas where God does give

the authority of the church over the people just on certain things. Specific things where

he mentions "hey, if people do these things... Fornication, drunkenness..." You know, he

lists off a few sins, it's found in st Corinthians , he says that these people need to be cast

out of the church. So you see how there is a little teeth behind that rule, that says

"hey, here's the rule. No fornication in God's house. No drunkenness in God's house. No extortion

carried out by the members of the church." Well then the teeth behind that is, if you

do these things, you must be cast out. And the Bible says, "you're in ERROR!" in st

Corinthians . "Because you have got this guy who is fornicating with his father's wife,

and he is facing NO consequences." He says "look, put away from among yourselves that

wicked person. Cast him out of the church! He's wicked! A little leaven leavens the whole

lump!" Well look, because they weren't doing that, it made the leadership of the church

a joke. I mean imagine if I'm getting up, and huffing and puffing about fornication

and how bad it is, and how wicked it is, "and the Bible says you should be cast out of the

church if you do this!" And we just have all these people in church who are couples living

together and fornicating. And it's like, "are you going to cast these people out of the

church?" "Welllllll, noooo, I'm just going to... It seems mean to do that. It just seems

like it would be mean to do that, so I'm not going to do that. They're better off here."

So why is God glorified by his judgment and his wrath? Well look, God would love nothing

more than everybody just getting saved and being forgiven, and every thing being fine.

But look, if God has made all these rules, and people have broken all his commandments,

and then he tries to save them by paying the price for their sins with his blood on the

cross, and they reject that payment... And if he just said, "well, that's okay guys,

no problem." You know what? That would make God a joke. And it would make the sacrifice

of Jesus a joke. But the sacrifice of Jesus Christ only means something when there is

a consequence and a punishment upon those who reject it. And God's commandments only

mean something when there is a punishment upon those who reject them. That's what the

song of Moses teaches, and that's what Revelation teaches. So in chapter , we'll get into

the specifics of the vials of God's wrath. How he is going to punish. How he is going

to recompense and reward them that dwell on the earth. And it's horrible. Let's bow our

heads and have a word of prayer. Father we thank you so much for your word. And thank

you that you have delivered us from the wrath to come. The Bible says to wait for his Son

from heaven, which he raised from the dead, even Jesus which delivered us from the wrath

to come. And we thank you so much for delivering us from the wrath to come. But, woe be unto

the unbelieving world. Woe be unto the unsaved who will face your unparalleled wrath with

these seven last plagues. Thank you

for salvation. And

in Jesus' name we pray, Amen.